An Interview with Scott Barry Kaufman

Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman

Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman will deliver the Keynote, From Evaluation to Inspiration, at the Closing General Session of this year’s Annual Conference of the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented on December 5th in Fort Worth, Texas. Dr. Kaufman is the Scientific Director of The Imagination Institute and a researcher at the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the co-founder of the popular website The Creativity Post and writes the blog Beautiful Minds for Scientific American Minds. He has a doctorate in cognitive psychology from Yale University, a master’s degree in experimental psychology from Cambridge University where he was a Gates Cambridge Scholar and B.S. degree from Carnegie Mellon University.

Dr. Kaufman is an outspoken advocate for a new approach to understanding intelligence and the role of imagination. Recently, he accepted our invitation to be interviewed. His insights based on extensive research and inspired by personal experience are changing the conversation surrounding giftedness, creativity and the direction of education.

Dr. Kaufman speaking at the 2014 NAGC Convention

M: What is the difference between creative giftedness and intellectual giftedness?

SBK: To me, intellectual giftedness is a reflection of advanced development of a range of characteristics that facilitate ascertaining what is, including intellectual curiosity, intellectual interests, academic intrinsic motivation, quick and efficient learning of new material, abstract reasoning, visuospatial reasoning, and vocabulary. In contrast, creative giftedness reflects the advanced development of a set of characteristics that facilitate ascertaining what could be, including daydreaming, imagination, prospection, perspective taking, divergent thinking, and nonconformity. Obviously, there is overlap, but not complete overlap.

M: How does a child’s environment affect their ability to learn?

SBK: The environment is crucial in bringing out optimal learning outcomes in all children. There’s a lot of emerging research showing the importance of student engagement for learning. Environmental factors can influence engagement in the way it increases (or decreases) a sense of belonging, support, high expectations, and inspiration.

M: Could you explain the difference between intelligence testing and intelligent testing?

SBK: The notion of intelligence testing is that we can determine a person’s level of intelligence through a single, decontextualized testing session. I much prefer to think of each testing session as an opportunity for intelligent testing on the part of the examiner to determine the child’s unique learning needs, style of responding, engagement, and creativity. The great intelligence researcher Alan Kaufman has been arguing for intelligent testing since the year I was born!

“Every person on this earth is full of great possibilities that can be realized through imagination, effort, and perseverance.”

M: The concept of inspiration; what role does it play in inspiring student engagement and can it increase cognitive efficiency?

SBK: Inspiration transforms people’s views of their own capabilities, and their place in the world. People who are inspired are typically inspired to realize some new grand vision they have for themselves or others, and inspiration motivates people to approach that vision. In a lot of ways, it’s an organic, longer lasting way of motivating students to want to do well, because inspiration is about as intrinsically motivating at you can get.

M: What advice would you give to educators to help them recognize potential in their students?

SBK: I’d suggest that educators stop thinking of potential as something that is set in stone at any moment in time, but as a moving target constantly changing and highly dependent on engagement. Personally, I much prefer the word “possibility” than “potential”. Every person on this earth is full of great possibilities that can be realized through imagination, effort, and perseverance.

Thank you, Dr. Kaufman, for bringing perspective to these important issues. We look forward to hearing your Keynote at TAGT 2014. Look for our tweets at hashtag #tagt14 on Twitter December 3rd through the 5th.

Global #gtchat Powered by the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented is a weekly chat on Twitter. Join us Fridays at 7/6 C & 4 PT in the U.S., midnight in the UK and Saturdays 1 PM NZ/11 AM AEDT to discuss current topics in the gifted community and meet experts in the field. Transcripts of our weekly chats can be found at Storify. Our Facebook Pageprovides information on the chat and news & information regarding the gifted community.

About the author: Lisa Conrad is the Moderator of Global #gtchat Powered by TAGT and Social Media Manager of the Global #gtchat Community. She is a longtime advocate for gifted children and also blogs at Gifted Parenting Support. Lisa can be contacted at: gtchatmod@gmail.com

Books by Scott Barry Kaufman:

Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined (Amazon)

The Complexity of Greatness: Beyond Talent or Practice (Amazon)

The Psychology of Creative Writing with James C. Kaufman (Amazon)

The Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence with Robert J. Sternberg, editors (Amazon)

The Philosophy of Creativity: New Essays with Elliott Samuel Paul, editors (Amazon)

Podcasts:

The Psychology Podcast (website)

Daydreaming and Mental Contrasting for Goal-Fulfillment with Gabriele Oettingen

The Science of Growing Smarter with Annie Murphy Paul

Talking Mastery and Social Intelligence with Author Robert Greene

Interviews:

The Problem with Standardized Tests

Why the Current Definition of Intelligence Isn’t Smart

A Defense of Daydreaming (Audio 52:05)

The Innovative and Creative Power of ADHD (Audio 9:35)

Articles:

From Evaluation to Inspiration

Who Is Currently Identified as Gifted in the United States

Creativity and Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders Across the Arts and Sciences

The Creative Gifts of ADHD

Confessions of a Late Bloomer

American Education and the IQ Trap

Photo of Scott Barry Kaufman from scottbarrykaufman.com

Photo of Dr. Scott Kaufman at NAGC courtesy of Lisa Conrad.

The Intensity of Giftedness with Guest, Dr. Lynette Breedlove

Lynette Breedlove, Ph.D.

Dr.Lynette Breedlove, Director of The Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science and Past President of TAGT, joined us this week to discuss the Intensity of Giftedness. Lynette will be conducting two Pre-Conference Sessions as well as presenting at this year’s TAGT Annual Conference in Fort Worth, Texas in December.

It was immediately apparent when asked what intensity looked like in gifted children that most participants at this chat had extensive experience identifying intensity. It was also noted that asynchronous development played an important role in shaping gifted children’s personalities. Dr. Breedlove explained, “When you are more sensitive and aware than others, you pick up on even slight differences in yourself and others. Most children are concerned about being different and intensity makes it a bigger deal to the child. The interplay between intensity and asynchrony makes things very complicated for students.”

A gifted child’s strong affective memory can cause problems in the school environment. Memories can seem so real that the child may feel they’re re-living painful past experiences; sometimes over and over again. Teachers, counselors, administrators should learn about and understand these intense feelings; not try to minimize them. Lynette reminded us, “Students can have emotional reactions that seem unrelated to what’s happening in the classroom at the moment – tied to a previous experience. You can’t rely on students forgetting something to help them move on or get over it. It is extremely important that parents, teachers, and counselors LISTEN and HONOR the students’ feelings.”

The remainder of the chat centered on how parents and educators can work with gifted children to minimize negative experiences and redirect behavior toward positive outcomes. A full transcript may be found here.

Links:

Excitabilities and Gifted People (YouTube 7:54)

Emotional Intensity in Gifted Children by Leslie Sword at SENG

Intense Behaviors of the Gifted: Possible Roadblocks to Academic Achievement

Breathing in I Calm My Body: Intensities in the Gifted from the Institute for Educational Advancement

Tips for Working with Emotional Intensity by Christine Fonseca

Emotional Intensity

Emotional Sensitivities and Intensities of Gifted Children (pdf)

Gifted Intensities: Liability or Asset? (pdf) by Lori Comallie-Caplan

Intensity & the Highly Gifted & Highly Sensitive Person

Living with Intensity by Dr. Susan Daniels and Dr. Michael Piechowski

Being an Emotional Coach to Gifted Children (SlideShare) by Christine Fonseca via @Giftedkidsie

Channeling Intensity Through Creative Expression by Douglas Eby

Intensity+Sensitivity+Overprotection=Social Emotional Disaster from Duke TIP

Lynette’s Breedlove’s Bio

Intensity in Gifted Children (YouTube 16:39)

“Is There a Dimmer Switch for the Memory Elephant?” from Sprite’s Site by Jo Freitag

Cybraryman’s Asynchronous Development Page

Intense Like Me by Jennifer Marten

GT Kids and Behavior: Seven Strategies to Help Kids (and Parents) Cope by Christine Fonseca for SENG Gifted

Gifted: Overexcitabilities and Asynchronicities by Amy Harrington

Cybraryman’s Yoga Page

Happy 10th Anniversary Gifted Homeschoolers Forum!

In honor of Gifted Homeschoolers Forum’s 10th Anniversary, Global #gtchat Powered by TAGT hosted a special chat with Executive Director, Corin Goodwin. Over the past 3 years, GHF and #gtchat have worked together to move the conversation forward in support of gifted and twice-exceptional children and their education.

Corin Goodwin

Gifted Homeschoolers Forum was born out of frustration at the lack of resources available to homeschoolers that covered both giftedness and homeschooling. Since then, GHF has become a premier source of information for parents and professionals interested in the education of gifted children within both the homeschool and gifted communities and beyond.

In answer to our question as to why so many families of gifted children are turning to homeschooling, Corin pointed out that it really is a new mindset about how we educate children. “A lot of families don’t JUST homeschool or regular school. They have multiple kids and needs; and they go back and forth or do both. We’ve grown to where one of our new tag lines is GHF: Changing the way the world views education. There are as many ways to educate a child as there are children.”

An important facet of GHF is the sense of community it provides to parents; the idea that they are not alone and don’t need to reinvent the wheel when embarking on the journey to provide their child with an education that meets both their academic as well as social-emotional needs. There are regional contacts, GHF Ambassadors, a bloggers’ group, an email group, online classes from GHF Online, a book series from GHF Press and much more (see links below). They have made homeschooling a relevant and consequential option for many who are seeking an alternative to traditional schooling.

What does the future hold for Gifted Homeschoolers Forum. Corin gave us a sneak peak: a speakers forum, webinars, and special events. They are working on a new brochure entitled ‘Gifted Cubed’ about gifted, twice-exceptional students from minority populations. New books titles are expected out soon from several well-respected bloggers in the gifted community. Also in the works, a new line of books using GHF Online curricula. You can read the full transcript of this chat here.

Links:

Gifted Homeschoolers Forum Website

Gifted Homeschoolers Forum Facebook Page

Gifted Homeschoolers Forum on Twitter

GHF Press

GHF Online

About Gifted Homeschoolers Forum

Parent Resources from Gifted Homeschoolers Forum

Membership Options at Gifted Homeschoolers Forum

GHF Professionals

Twice-Exceptional Resources from Gifted Homeschoolers Forum

Homeschooling Resources from Gifted Homeschoolers Forum

Gifted Resources from Gifted Homeschoolers Forum

GHF Brochures

GHF Blog Hops

GHF Ambassadors

Local & Regional Support at Gifted Homeschoolers Forum

Gifted & Homeschool Friendly Professionals from GHF

GHF Board of Directors

About Gifted Homeschoolers Forum with Corin Goodwin from Sparkling Kids

“Homeschooling the Gifted or 2e Child” by Corin Goodwin & Mika Gustavson

GHF Institutional Members

Unexpected Challenges of Being a Gifted Kid with Guest Ian Byrd

Photo Courtesy of morgueFile

Our guest this week was Ian Byrd of Byrdseed Gifted. Ian is a much sought after presenter at gifted conferences and a well-respected educator within the gifted community. His website, Byrdseed Gifted, and latest venture, Byrdseed.tv (subscription-based), are excellent resources for all classroom teachers. During this chat, we explored the challenges of being a gifted kid based on one of Ian’s presentations that he’ll be giving at this year’s TAGT Parent Conference in Fort Worth, TX in December.

Ian Byrd

Contrary to society’s perception of gifted children, the challenges they face are numerous. As participants in the chat pointed out from personal experience, life can be lonely and full of anxiety for a gifted kid. Feelings of not fitting in with age peers, unrealistic expectations by teachers and adults in their lives, obsessive behaviors that are often misunderstood, and relentless boredom in school has a profound impact on their lives. Ian shared, “As I grew up, I became increasingly self-critical, felt that I wasn’t as great as people said, and grew afraid of taking risks.”

According to Ian, “It’s easy to assume that giftedness will make problems simpler to solve or that being “smart” should make life easier. Giftedness can create over-thinking,perfectionism, and an overly-critical point of view. Simple problems become overly complex!” As the moderator pointed out, “Gifted kids are rarely told what to expect. Adults need to do a better job at facilitating the conversation – what is giftedness?” Often a gifted child is confused about why they feel so different from their peers which leads to further problems. Discussing giftedness in a positive manner can help a child’s self awareness. A full transcript may be found here.

As mentioned earlier, Ian will be presenting at the TAGT Annual Conference on December 4th and December 5th and at the Parent Conference on the 5th as well. You can register for the Annual Conference or the Parent Conference at these links.